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United Nations and Partners: 2011 Work Plan for Sudan

30 November 2010

Mid-Year Review: 20 July 2011

In 2011, Sudan will mark six years of relative peace since the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ended over 21 years of civil war between north and south. It is also the year in which the southern states and Abyei area will vote in critical referenda on their political status. Meanwhile, efforts will continue to find a lasting settlement to the crisis in Darfur.

In Sudan, humanitarian aid organizations have gradually adapted emergency programming to respond to the evolving needs of IDPs and vulnerable residents, particularly in Darfur. In the years since the first Work Plan, with internecine conflict still prevalent in some areas, the humanitarian needs of beneficiaries have changed, and humanitarian actions will therefore take a two-pronged approach in 2011. Aid efforts will continue life-saving assistance where this is indicated but, in a departure from traditional practice, will increase activities that strengthen national capacity, preparedness and mitigation against future shocks. The ultimate aim will be to provide critical aid in a way that will bring vulnerable populations out of dependence and into more normal living conditions.

This orientation will have a tangible impact on sector activities. In the Food Security and Livelihoods sector, for example, global food distributions will be gradually scaled down, while targeted safety net programmes for the most vulnerable groups will be introduced. Vouchers and other safety net options will also be employed, and joint efforts will expand food-for-recovery (FFR) projects to meet the non-food cost of building hafirs, schools, terraces and other public works projects. Camp case-loads will be re-verified, with an emphasis on support to returnees and populations settling permanently in other areas. Targeting of existing food-based nutrition programmes such as blanket supplementary feeding (BSFP) and targeted supplementary feeding (SFP) will be refined through better analysis and programme design. At the same time, de-mining activities will gradually be handed over to national authorities from mid-2011, with Mine Action sector partners following up with technical support and mentoring. In the WASH and Health sectors, an inter-agency collaboration on adapted food-for-training (FFT) projects with state Ministries of Health and NGOs working in health and nutrition will raise awareness and knowledge on hygiene, nutrition and care-giving practices.

Partially as a result of this re-orientation, as well as the return of caseloads in southern Sudan to pre-emergency levels, total requirements for 2011, at $1.7 billion, are 8% lower than in 2010. This change is mainly driven by decreased requirements in the Food Security and Livelihoods sector, which alone represented 46% of 2010 requirements.

The Humanitarian Country Team endorsed three strategic priorities to guide humanitarian action in 2011. These priorities reinforce the importance of incorporating a strengthened livelihoods approach to aid delivery in Sudan and aim to increase national ownership of humanitarian action. The priorities are:

Improved preparedness and strengthened capacities of national and local actors, as well as of international humanitarian actors, to respond effectively and efficiently to existing and foreseen humanitarian needs in Sudan

Greater access to assistance and availability of basic services with an emphasis on improved protection of, promotion of and respect for human rights for people in vulnerable situations and

Creation of conditions conducive to durable solutions, increased self-reliance and peaceful co-existence for IDPs and other crisis-affected populations

Recognizing the unique operational environment in southern Sudan, these three strategic objectives have been re-cast as a set of priorities adapted to suit the context in the south. southern Sudan-specific priorities include prepositioning core pipelines; maintaining existing safety nets; improving emergency response and protection mechanisms through reintegration support to returnees to re-enter the productive cycle as quickly as possible; and improving state-level humanitarian coordination.

The 2011 Consolidated Work Plan for Sudan seeks $1,700,061,946 to address the most urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan. These needs are shared among twelve sectors/clusters, two of which are active only in the south.

Projects in the 2011 Work Plan reflect the most urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan and the capacity of appealing organizations to implement effective programmes. This year’s appeal comprises 556 projects coordinated by the twelve sectors/clusters above, representing an increase in the number of projects, but a 8% decrease in requirements compared to 2010. Rigorous project vetting, stronger coordination and improved beneficiary targeting all contributed to this reduction.

The humanitarian community in Sudan expresses its gratitude and appreciation to all donors for their support in 2010, when projects in the Work Plan received more than $1.1 billion for urgent humanitarian needs.